Poll: Brown leading Warren in Mass. race

In a reversal of recent poll results, Republican Sen. Scott Brown is leading likely Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren in his bid for reelection after trailing her for several months.

Forty-nine percent of likely Massachusetts voters said they would vote for Mr. Brown while 40 percent supported Mr. Warren in a Suffolk University poll released late Thursday — welcome news for Mr. Brown after surveys since December showed Mrs. Warren in the lead.

SEE RELATED:

Known for overseeing how tax dollars were spent for the bank bailouts and advocating for consumer protections under President Obama’s administration, Ms. Warren has proven herself to be a fundraising heavyweight in the six months since she entered the race and is expected to prove a tough opponent for Mr. Brown next fall.

Both candidates will court the state’s key voting bloc — the 52 percent of Massachusetts voters who are registered as independents. The Suffolk poll found that Mr. Brown’s margin of support among that group was widening, with 60 percent saying they favor him, compared to 28 percent for Ms. Warren.

In a major upset, Mr. Brown won a special election to fill the late Edward M. Kennedy’s seat two years ago, joining the state’s senior Democratic Sen. John Kerry in Washington.

That seems to be the type of political arrangement Massachusetts voters favor. The survey found that a majority of voters support having senators from both parties, with 60 percent saying they see a benefit in sending a Democrat and a Republican to the Senate, compared to 36 percent who did not.